04/07/2008
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Starting Friday, the restaurant will be back again, serving its full menu of homemade breakfasts starting at 8 a.m.
Owners Dotty and Allan Danforth said last fall when they announced the end of their weekday breakfasts said they were nearing retirement and wanted to slow down.
They remained open for lunch and dinner and continued weekend breakfasts and brunches. Last November, they yielded a bit and opened early on Fridays.
"We didn't find that eliminating breakfast was all we expected it to be. We thought cutting back our hours would make our lives a little easier," Dotty Danforth said.
"But we found out we were not working any less. There was still business to take care of and the phone would ring all morning with people wanting reservations or to talk about catering," she said.
"And we have found that the more hours we are open, the busier we are overall," she said.
Danforth said they had many requests from patrons to reopen for breakfast.
"It is a community service, in a way. People were so disappointed when we closed. For 25 years, this has been a morning meeting place," she said.
Among the disappointed customers last fall was University of Maine at Farmington President Theodora J. Kalikow. On Friday, she said she was thrilled to learn the Homestead's doors will again be open early.
"We would take people we were recruiting for faculty positions out to breakfast there all the time," she said. "We have missed it."
The Homestead had a $350,000 payroll last year, Danforth said, with a staff of 30 part-timers -- mostly college students -- and four full-time employees.
The decision to reopen for breakfast coincides with the 25th anniversary celebration of this family-owned business.
During the celebration week of April 14 to 18, free coffee and samples of baked goods made by new pastry chef, Debbie Hiltz of Farmington, will be offered from 8 to 9 a.m. each day. On Friday, April 18, the public is invited to an afternoon cake-and-champagne party with details to be announced.
Danforth said additions to the standard morning menu will include a selection of breakfast bagel sandwiches cooked on a panini grill, and take-out is always available.
Originally known simply as "The Bakery," the Danforths have had a restaurant in three locations on the same street until permanently settling in at 186 Broadway in 1988. They use locally grown and raised foods whenever possible, their staff bakes and sells about 10 varieties of breads, they offer catering, receptions, do wedding cakes and have a bar and lounge. Wednesdays have a two-for-one menu, and there is live entertainment on Thursdays.
Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991
bjespersen@centralmaine.com
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